MADISON -- As a shooter, Wisconsin's Josh Gasser is reluctant but ruthless.

"I bet there are times when people are like: 'Yeah, we got him to take a tough one,'" teammate Ben Brust, who is reluctant to stop shooting from deep, said after a recent practice. "And then -- swish -- it just snaps the net.

With No. 14 UW (22-5, 9-5 Big Ten) set to host Indiana (15-11, 5-8) at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Gasser is leading the Big Ten in three-point accuracy at 46.3% (37 of 80).

Gasser, who shot 45.2% from three-point range two seasons ago as a sophomore, is third on UW in three-point attempts (80) and fifth on the team in overall field-goal attempts (140).

"He's opportunistic," UW coach Bo Ryan said. "He's one of those guys that isn't going to take a bad shot."

Reluctant.

Yet when UW needs a big shot, particularly from beyond the arc, Gasser is the team's No. 1 threat.

When UW hit just 5 of 23 three-pointers in a 48-38 victory Dec. 4 at Virginia, Gasser hit 2 of 2 attempts. The second came in the second half and effectively killed a Virginia rally.

When UW needed to hold off Illinois in the second half to snap a two-game losing streak, Gasser hit two critical three-pointers.

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Frank Kaminsky stole the headlines with a double-double when UW stunned Michigan in Ann Arbor, but Gasser hit 3 of 4 three-pointers that day. He hit two bombs to help UW race to a 10-2 lead, a lead UW never lost, and then hit a third in the second half to give UW a 62-51 lead.

Gasser hit 4 of 5 three-pointers in UW's 79-74 victory at Iowa. He hit 3 three-pointers in the final 9 minutes 50 seconds after re-entering the game with three fouls.

"As soon as I put him back in," Ryan said, "sure enough, good things happened."

The second-half three-pointers against Iowa came with UW trailing in a tense game. Gasser's shots forged a 54-54 tie, pulled UW within 64-63 and gave UW a 69-68 lead.

"He has stepped up in some critical situations," UW assistant Lamont Paris said. "There have been a couple times where guys shied away it seemed. He just ... no hesitancy. He has an affinity for doing that."

Ruthless.

Gasser, second on the team in minutes played (33 per game) and fifth in scoring (9.0 ppg), was able to work on his shot while he recovered from a knee injury that forced him to miss the 2012-'13 season.